This species is found in the western Atlantic from North Carolina, USA and Bermuda to Trinidad and Tobago. In Brazil, it occurs only in the oceanic islands of Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas and St. Paul’s Rocks, and not along the continental coast.

This species is reef associated and is found from 1-55 m. Adults are found on shallow patches of coral or rocky reefs or deeper seaward reefs (Lieske and Myers 1994), juveniles and subadults are found in shallower (one to five m) coral reefs (Gomon 1978). It feeds on molluscs, sea urchins, crustaceans, and brittle stars (Lieske and Myers 1994).